"As I promised, you won't have any lessons during your first week in the sect. You can use this time to learn the way of living here, or maybe even find some hobby if any of the jobs that I will introduce you to would strike your fancy. In here, I don't think I need to emphasise on how important it can be to find a job here? While you can rely on your training alone to vie for the resources form the academy, it sure is a heck lot easier to just buy whatever you need with the money you earn yourself, isn't it?"
To my surprise, this strange female teacher not only managed to deal with Rubia's matters but even come and fetch me for a workshop guide before even the first day was over!
"Teacher, if I may ask, what kind of jobs would you recommend to look for?"
For now, my abilities made me quite versatile when it came to the job that I would potentially take my fancy to. In fact, if the information I derived from the trashy cultivation novels I read as a kid, then I already had a pretty good idea what kind of jobs would be potentially beneficiary for me.
After all, I was most likely the only person alive in this world to cultivate detergent instead of qi! Given this scenario, becoming an alchemist or an apothecary, whatever the difference between the two was, was most likely the best shot for me, especially if there is any culture of making recipes and blueprints for those recipes in there already!
"Here we have our first stop today. This is a combined guild of alchemists, apothecaries, pill masters and herbalists. But if you are interested in either of them but don't know the differences, fear not. Everyone here starts from the same, shared level and eventually grows to become one of the specialised craft masters."
Pulling me towards a rather run-down building, I couldn't help but notice that the only good thing about it was the location of the site. With a huge road going in a perfect circle around the entire lowest level of the sect, this shared guild was located right at the entry to one of the six streets that went across the said circle. Given how I could see some impressive warehouse buildings right beside the guildhall, I couldn't help but wonder just what could cause the entire building to be in such dire straits!
"I know what you must be thinking from that… disappointed expression of yours."
Suddenly laughing, the teacher guided me through the long corridor all the way to what looked like the main reception hall of the building. Or, at least, that's what I could tell was the supposed designated task for this area, now entirely filled with young people standing over simple, wooden stools with something that looked like a steel cup in the middle of their working place.
"Right now, everyone that you see around is trying to pass the entry exam to the shared guild, hence the crowd. While I know that you might be eager to join them, you still need to learn some basics beforehand."
Moving through the single relatively empty area, the teacher guided me towards an enormous pinboard that decorated the entirety of the back wall of the room. On it, countless pieces of paper were pinned, with an entire group of people constantly moving around and picking or putting new papers on it.
"This is the request hall. Here, you can pick any of the requests pinned on the map in order to receive a set reward for preparing set concoction. But don't worry, all of the examinees have actually way easier task. All they need to do…"
Moving my attention back to the unorderly group of people, the teacher pointed at the nearest candidate.
"... is to boil the liquid contained within the cup. They are free to do so in any method, but only by purifying it with flames hot enough, the participants will qualify himself or herself to join the guild. As for how the quality of the liquid is tested…"
Clearly hinting at something, this strange teacher lead me between the people all the way to one particular man that was standing still with his hand raised high in the air.
"Drink your concoction."
Despite not wearing any signs that would indicate that she belong to any of the guilds that shared this building, this guiding teacher of mine sounded authoritative enough for the young man to grab his red-hot, metal cup and drink all its content in one go.
"And that's how you know… you failed."
Whispering those words to me in a way that made it impossible for the young man to hear it, this woman managed to warn me just in time for some incredible sights. Given how everything around me was new and interesting, if not for her warning, I would miss the sigh of the young man's head suddenly starting to glow, before he suddenly lost his stability and passed out even before his body hit the ground!
"Don't worry. While drinking the unrefined concoction will be pretty awful for you, it won't cause any lasting harm."
Done with the introductions, the female teacher of mine was about to leave… But I couldn't give up such an opportunity, could I?
Noticing that there was an entire small pot of the same liquid that I saw the unlucky young man drinking, I grabbed one of the cups used formerly by now unconscious examinees, before filling it up with the liquid from the pot.
"What are you doing? Are you that eager to test the effects of this pranky poison?"
As if reading my actions and capable of seeing through my intent, the female clearly attempted to dissuade me from going through with my idea. Obviously, with no effects at all!
"Object purification."
Whispering those words under my nose, I held the cup closely to my body, as if allowing the heat of my skin to be the one source of warmth that could potentially boil the liquid down. Using this makeshift cover to hide the slight shine of my hands once the ability of mine started to kick in, I ignored the next words of my teacher, focused on the effects that the skill was infusing the liquid with.
At first, nothing really happened outside of the vibrant yellow colour of the concoction fading away a bit. The true changes started going on later on, with the entire thing suddenly turning red, only to fade away into a bright shade of blue. Then, the process went through the entire circle, invoking a yellow colour for the liquid once again, only for all the colours to appeared within my cup once again!
"Teacher, if I may ask, what is the desired colour of the concoction that the examinees are supposed to prepare?"
Still watching how the liquid within my cup continued to go through the constant changes in colour all the while there was less and less of it, I at least wanted to receive a single hint from the teacher to know when to stop purifying it!
"Colours…? Don't tell me…"
Suddenly gasping for the air, the female rushed forward. Breaking into my private space, the teacher forcibly turned me around. Not sure about what she expected to see, I hastened the entire process once again, hiding the opening of the cup with my hand.
"Show it to me, now!"